Jajpur: A 20-year-old man was arrested by Dharmasala police on Sunday for raping an eight-year-old girl.

The accused, who is a resident of Ranibandi village in the Jajpur district, happens to be the uncle of the victim. The accused was produced before the court on Sunday and later remanded to the judicial custody after his bail plea was rejected, the police said.

Though the incident took place in Ranibandi on Wednesday evening, the matter came to light after the mother of the victim filed a complaint with the local police on Thursday.

According to the complaint, when the girl was playing with her friends on Wednesday the accused lured her with chocolates and took her to an abandoned house. Since he is a relative and well-known to her, she did not hesitate to accompany him. The accused took the girl inside the house and allegedly raped her.

"Hearing the girl cry some local residents rushed to the house. Sensing trouble, the accused fled the place. People rescued the girl and handed her over to her mother," said inspector in charge of Dharmasala police station Umakanta Nayak.

Based on the police complaint the Dharmasala police registered a case under various sections of IPC and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and started a probe.

"We sent the girl to a government hospital for medical examination and recorded her statement," Nayak said.

"We conducted a raid at a village near Chandikhole where the accused was hiding and arrested him," he said.

The police conducted medical examination of the accused before producing him before the court.